Wapiti River | |
---|---|
Wapiti River in western Canada | |
Location | |
Country | Canada |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Tuck Lake, Wapiti Pass |
• coordinates | 54°26′26″N 120°47′25″W / 54.44069°N 120.79021°W |
• elevation | 1,370 m (4,490 ft) |
Mouth | |
• location | Smoky River |
• coordinates | 55°08′16″N 118°18′05″W / 55.13784°N 118.30152°W |
• elevation | 485 m (1,591 ft) |
Discharge | |
• average | 100 m3/s (3,500 cu ft/s) |
The Wapiti River /ˈwɑːpɪdiː/ is a river in eastern British Columbia and western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Smoky River, located in the southern area of the Peace River Basin.
Wapiti is named after the Cree word for elk (waapiti).
Course
[edit]Wapiti River originates as the outflow of Tuck Lake, east of Wapiti Pass, in Wapiti Lake Provincial Park, east-central British Columbia, in the Canadian Rockies. It then runs in a north-eastern direction, crosses into Alberta, where it becomes more meandered as it continues through the County of Grande Prairie No. 1. It merges into the Smoky River 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Grande Prairie.
From west to east, Wapiti River flows through the alpine environment of the Rocky Mountains, the rolling foothills, then farmlands and aspen parkland in western Alberta. Wapiti Lake Provincial Park, Bear River Park, O'Brien Provincial Park and Pipestone Creek Park[1] are protected areas along the river.
Close to its mouth, Wapiti has an average discharge of 100 cubic metres per second (3,500 cu ft/s).[2]
Tributaries and crossings
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Discover the Peace Country - Pipestone Creek Park
- ^ Alberta Environment Archived 2007-01-16 at the Wayback Machine - Wapiti Discharge graph